The Common Seal 71 



In Newfoundland the Seal-fishery forms an important 

 source of wealth, and numerous ships are sent out every 

 season among the ice in search of Seals. One ship has 

 been known to catch five thousand Seals, but about half 

 that number is the usual quantity taken. As soon as the 

 Seal is killed, it is skinned, and the pelt, as the skin and 

 blubber together is called, being preserved, the body of 

 the Seal is either eaten by the sailors, or left on the ice 

 for the polar bears. 



The aboriginal inhabitants of the northern regions 

 have several strange superstitions about Seals. They 

 believe that Seals delight in thunder-storms; and say, 

 that during these times they will sit on the rocks, and 

 contemplate, with apparent pleasure and gratification, 

 the convulsion of the elements. The Icelanders, in par- 

 ticular, are said to believe that these animals are the 

 offspring of Pharaoh and his host, who were converted 

 into Seals when they were overwhelmed in the Bed Sea. 



Several species of Seals are distinguished by curious 

 appendages to the head, sometimes in the form of a 

 hood, sometimes in that of a projection from the nose. 

 One of the most singular is the Sea Elephant (Morunga 

 proboscidea^ an inhabitant of the shores of the numerous 

 islands scattered over the great Southern Ocean. In this 

 curious animal, which often measures twenty-four feet 

 in length, the nose of the male forms a proboscis about a 

 foot long and capable of considerable distension. The 

 female has no such appendage. The young of the Sea 

 Elephant, when just born, is said to be as large as a full 

 grown seal of the common species. The skin in the old 

 animals is very thick, and forms an excellent leather for 

 harness. 



